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‘Who else has got four children [out of six] working for them, and a daughter-in-law?’ says Alan Russell, who has indeed created something of a dynasty since starting Russell Simpson in 1979. ‘My wife heads up our lettings department – so it’s very much a family business. But we never fight, we’ve never had an argument, and we all have a similar work ethic, so it works well.’

Russell admits that the market’s been fragile: ‘We’ve done pretty well, considering. Each sale is an achievement in this market.’ He sees the drop in prices in prime central London as an opportunity rather than a setback, with new overseas buyers arriving all the time.